Yes I know that’s what this blog consists of at the best of times, but also …

Both my bands are set for a bit of travelling for their next gigs. After a triumphant home-base evening at the James Street Tavern in Oxford, the String Project are venturing to London for our next public outing. Read all about both. Meanwhile, the Filthy Spectacula are making our second venture out of London home waters, this time to the nearest I have to a home city, to play a prominent support slot in Liverpool. Bizarrely, I don’t think I’ve ever played a band gig on Merseyside, only classical concerts and church events, so this is both a homecoming and a kind of first for me. I’m also the only one of the band with any connections up that way and as usual we need turnout to get paid (in this case, to get the agreed fee, 20 people coming ‘to see us’ as interrogated on the door) – so locals, please push this and come if you possibly can! A very varied lineup should offer more or less something for everyone (I won’t personally be offended if you claim to be seeing us on the door then spend our set in the smokers’ shelter … ).

The Filthy ship sails on from there to our second Bristol appearance less than a week later, with some video shooting on the way; the String Project stay closer to home for a high-profile gig in Oxford with guest artists from (again) Bristol, to be followed or possibly preceded by an away-leg performance in Bristol with the same performers. But all of that can wait for other posts to be explained properly.

Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to put a string quartet together for the wedding / event trade, without repeating the situation where someone has to go into London for every practice unless someone else leaves London, and both cost too much so everyone’s unhappy. I think I have my people (albeit with the strange situation of all three upper players wanting to play viola not violin!) if the actual geographical spread proves workable, so watch this space …